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If buying those products in person really provides more utility than buying them through the internet, sure, those stores will stick around. Most things aren't
by douche 11y ago
If buying those products in person really provides more utility than buying them through the internet, sure, those stores will stick around. Most things aren't that way, however, and it is only going to get worse as one and same-day delivery becomes more widespread. Particularly since brick-and-mortar stores have cut inventory to the bone, so you never know if they'll actually have what you need at any time.
I'm down to only going in a store for perishable groceries and the occasional hardware store purchase when I run out of something in the middle of a project. Everything (and I'm not kidding) else, it's more efficient and less aggravating to grab on Amazon and use Prime two-day shipping. If VR finally becomes a real thing, in 5-10 years appliance and furniture showroom stores might well be obsolete.
- MrTonyD 11y agoIt's not true that better utility will cause the stores to stick around. Some utility will be external to the buyer or seller (for our society, for example), and some utility will possibly come with dis-utility to, for example, a distribution chain. But, from a strictly analytical perspective, there might be benefits worth preserving. Also there are studies showing that utility is often invisible to the buyer (consider sophisticated electronics with characteristics such as power saving or such as high environmental costs). To take a classic example, medical care allows no practical way for the customer to judge quality or to price compare - that is an extreme example, but many products have such aspects. The common justification that "markets work" represents a philosophical position, not one backed up by experience in real-world markets.